History: Both her father and grandfather had been sohei, trained warriors
who belonged to an ancient and secretive Japanese order dating back to the
year 778 and the temple of Enryaku. But Ana Ishikawa's life should have followed
a different path. Her father Shiro had given up the path of the warrior when
he met Ana's mother Catherine, a Catholic missionary, at college. Unfortunately
others weren't willing to let him retire so easily; the Yakuza sent an assassin,
Masahiro Arashi, to kill Shiro. Attacked at home, Shiro proved more than
capable of defending himself, and would have come out best in the encounter
had not young Ana distracted him at the wrong time. When Ana's brother Toro
came to his father's defence, he suffered the same fate.

Ana grew up with the guilt of these deaths on her conscience, and although
her mother was opposed to it, Ana's grandfather Yoshitora taught his surviving
grandchild the ways of the sohei. By day she studied, eventually going to
the Inagaki School of Art and Design in Kyoto, but by night she honed her
combat skills. When Ana finally felt she was ready, she began the hunt, planning
to avenge the deaths of her father and sibling. She dressed in red battle
garb, and disguised her face with white paint, inspired by the legend
of Yuri Ishikawa, who as Tora No Shi (the Tiger of Death in Japanese) had
been the heart of a revolt in 1637 that had fought against the Emperor's
repression of Japanese Christians.

Ana's ferocity on the hunt, combined with her resemblance to her legendary
predescessor, gained her the title Shi (Death), before her conscience and
morality finally won the battle with her thirst fo vengeance. Having succeeded
in getting Masahiro sent to prison, Ana renounced killing and tried to take
up a normal life again, working as manager of the Oike Gallery in New York.
Her sense of justice remains though, and she continues to don her other persona
whenever she feels that innocents need her help.

Comments: Shi was created by William Tucci, founder and owner of Crusade
Comics.